Bertha Stringer Lee, an American artist born in the vibrant city of San Francisco, carved a distinct niche for herself in the Californian art scene of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Her life and work offer a fascinating glimpse into a period of significant artistic development on the West Coast, a time when artists sought to capture the unique essence of California's natural beauty. Though much of her oeuvre was tragically lost, her story and surviving works speak to a dedicated artist deeply connected to her native landscape.
Early Life and Artistic Inclinations
Born Bertha Stringer in San Francisco in 1869, she was fortunate to grow up in an environment that nurtured her artistic talents. Her father, a proprietor of a storage company, actively encouraged her pursuit of art from a young age. This early support was crucial, allowing her talents to blossom. Remarkably, Lee first exhibited her artwork at the tender age of fourteen, a clear indication of her precocious ability and serious intent.
This early promise led her to seek formal training. She enrolled at the prestigious Mark Hopkins Institute of Art in San Francisco, a central institution for artistic education on the West Coast at the time. The Institute, which would later evolve into the San Francisco Art Institute, was a hub of creative energy, with influential instructors like Arthur Mathews, known for his decorative murals and easel paintings in the California Decorative Style, and landscape painters such as Raymond Dabb Yelland and the Danish-born Emil Carlsen, who brought Tonalist and Impressionist sensibilities to their teaching. While specific records of her direct tutelage under these masters are scarce, the prevailing artistic currents at the Institute undoubtedly shaped her development. Lee further broadened her academic horizons by studying at the University of California, Berkeley, an experience that would have exposed her to a wider range of intellectual and cultural influences.
Marriage, Studio, and Early Career
In 1894, Bertha Stringer married Eugene Lee, an electrician. Now known as Bertha Stringer Lee, she established a studio in their home on Steiner Street in San Francisco. This space was not merely a place for solitary creation; it became a welcoming venue where she frequently entertained guests, likely fostering a lively exchange of ideas with fellow artists and art enthusiasts. This period marked the true beginning of her professional career, as she began to exhibit her work more widely and establish her reputation.
Her financial comfort, partly due to her family background and perhaps her husband's profession, allowed her a degree of artistic freedom. It is noted that many of her works were not created for commercial sale but were instead gifted to friends and family. While this generosity might mean fewer of her works entered the public market initially, it speaks to a passion for art driven by personal expression and connection rather than solely by economic necessity.
Artistic Style: Tonalism and the Californian Light
Bertha Stringer Lee's artistic output primarily consisted of landscapes and "tonal scenes." This description strongly aligns her with the Tonalist movement, which was popular in American art from the 1880s through the 1910s. Tonalism, influenced by the French Barbizon School and artists like James McNeill Whistler, emphasized mood, atmosphere, and evocative effects of light, often rendered in a limited palette of muted colors – grays, browns, dark blues, and soft greens. Lee’s focus on "tonal scenes" suggests a similar concern for capturing the subjective experience of nature, its quiet poetry, and the subtle interplay of light and shadow, particularly during twilight or overcast conditions.
Her favored subjects were the distinctive landscapes of California, particularly the San Francisco Bay area and the Monterey Peninsula. These regions offered a wealth of inspiration: the dramatic coastline, the rolling hills, the iconic cypress trees of Monterey, and the ever-changing atmospheric conditions of the Bay. Her work aimed to translate these vistas into paintings that resonated with a sense of place and a deep appreciation for natural beauty. While specific titles of many works are lost, pieces generally titled like "Monterey Coast," "Cypress Trees, Monterey," or "Quiet Cove" are indicative of her thematic focus. She worked directly from nature, seeking to capture its inherent harmony and beauty.
It is also plausible that, like many Californian artists of her era, Lee's style evolved or incorporated elements of California Impressionism. This regional variant of Impressionism was characterized by a brighter palette, a concern for capturing the brilliant California light, and often a more direct, plein-air approach. Artists like Guy Rose, Granville Redmond, and E. Charlton Fortune became leading figures in this movement, celebrating the sun-drenched landscapes of the state. Lee's work, while rooted in Tonalist sensibilities, likely also reflected the unique luminosity of her native environment.
Exhibitions and Affiliations: A Respected Presence
Bertha Stringer Lee was an active participant in the San Francisco art world. She was a member of the San Francisco Society of Women Artists, an important organization that provided support and exhibition opportunities for female artists in a field often dominated by men. Within this society, she was associated with the Sketch Club, a more informal group likely focused on sketching excursions and mutual critique. Records show her participation in the Sketch Club's semi-annual exhibition in 1895 and her inclusion in the spring exhibition catalogue of 1899. These affiliations highlight her engagement with her peers and her commitment to her professional development.
Her work gained recognition beyond local circles. She exhibited at several significant expositions and galleries, including:
The Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition (Seattle, 1909), a major event showcasing the development of the Pacific Northwest and beyond.
The World's Columbian Exposition (Chicago, 1893), a landmark world's fair that had a profound impact on American art and architecture. Her participation here, early in her career, would have been a significant achievement.
The Sequoia Club, likely a Californian organization promoting art and culture.
The Golden Gate Park Museum (the precursor to the de Young Museum).
The Richelieu Art Gallery in San Francisco.
These exhibitions placed her work before a wider public and alongside many prominent artists of the day. Her contemporaries in the Californian art scene included figures like William Keith, known for his epic landscapes, and women artists such as M. Evelyn McCormick and Alice Brown Chittenden, who also focused on Californian flora and landscapes.
The Carmel Connection
Later in her career, Bertha Stringer Lee also had connections with the burgeoning Carmel Art Colony. Between the autumn of 1924 and October 1927, she made visits to this artistic haven on the Monterey Peninsula. Carmel had become a magnet for writers and artists drawn by its natural beauty and bohemian atmosphere. Founded in part by figures like poet George Sterling and writer Mary Austin, it attracted artists from across the country.
During her time in Carmel, Lee would have encountered a vibrant community of artists. The provided information mentions her appearing with sculptors like Finn Haakon Frolich and painters such as Franz Bischoff, known for his floral still lifes and later, Impressionistic landscapes, and Louis Christian Mullgardt Sharp, who painted landscapes and genre scenes. Other prominent artists associated with Carmel during this broader period included William Merritt Chase, who taught a summer school there, the maritime painter Armin Hansen, and Impressionist E. Charlton Fortune, one of the most significant female artists of the Carmel school, as well as Mary DeNeale Morgan, known for her coastal scenes and adobes. Lee's visits, though perhaps brief, indicate her continued engagement with active artistic centers and her desire to remain connected to the pulse of Californian art.
The Devastation of 1906
A pivotal and tragic event in Bertha Stringer Lee's life and career, as for so many San Franciscans, was the great earthquake and subsequent fire of April 1906. This cataclysm devastated the city, destroying countless homes, businesses, and cultural institutions. For Lee, the disaster had a profound personal and professional impact: a significant portion of her accumulated body of work was lost in the fires.
The loss of these paintings is incalculable. It not only represents a personal tragedy for the artist but also a loss for art history, making a full assessment of her artistic development and range more challenging. Many artists' studios and galleries were destroyed, wiping out years of creative output and altering the trajectory of the San Francisco art scene. Artists like Charles Rollo Peters, known for his nocturnal adobes, also suffered significant losses. The resilience of the artistic community in the face of such destruction is a testament to their dedication.
Perseverance and Later Years
Despite the devastating loss of her earlier works, Bertha Stringer Lee persevered. She continued to paint and exhibit, demonstrating a steadfast commitment to her artistic calling. Her later works would have continued to explore the Californian landscape, perhaps with a maturity and depth shaped by her experiences.
Her connection to the art world remained, as evidenced by her later visits to Carmel. She eventually moved to Palo Alto, California, where she passed away on March 19, 1937. Her death marked the end of a career dedicated to capturing the soul of California through her art.
Legacy and Historical Placement
Assessing Bertha Stringer Lee's historical standing requires acknowledging the impact of the 1906 earthquake. The loss of a substantial body of her work inevitably makes a comprehensive evaluation difficult. However, based on her active exhibition record, her affiliations with significant art organizations, and the nature of her subjects, she can be recognized as a dedicated and respected regional artist of her time.
She was part of a generation of Californian artists who were forging a distinct artistic identity for the West Coast, moving beyond purely academic traditions to engage directly with the unique light and landscape of their environment. Her work, with its Tonalist underpinnings and focus on the atmospheric beauty of the San Francisco Bay and Monterey Peninsula, contributed to this evolving regional aesthetic.
While she may not have achieved the national fame of some of her contemporaries like Childe Hassam or John Henry Twachtman in the broader American Impressionist and Tonalist movements, or even the more widely recognized California Impressionists like Guy Rose or William Wendt, her contributions to the Californian art scene were genuine. Her works are held in the permanent collections of institutions such as St. Mary's College of California, and potentially the Oakland Museum and the de Young Museum, ensuring that her artistic vision endures.
Bertha Stringer Lee's story is one of talent, dedication, and resilience. She navigated the art world as a woman in an era of transition, contributed to the cultural life of San Francisco and beyond, and left behind a legacy as an artist who deeply understood and lovingly portrayed the landscapes of her native California. Her paintings serve as quiet reminders of the beauty she found and sought to share, a testament to an artistic spirit undimmed by personal loss or the passage of time.
